Latching apparatus



July 15, 1952 I u. L. THoMAs l 2,603,515

` LATCHING APPARATUS Filed July 22, 1948 INVENTOR. I/ases Tarnee )wwwPatented July 15, 1952 Application July'zz, 194s,`serialrl\lo.-40,o9l@

1attentatentato @leitung and latchf ingfstructllreyfor a'ventilatirladevice,y particularlyto a =latch-ft lfjthe plv'oted v entwing of a vehicle body.

fl'henventionlis concerned principallyv Withfan arrangement Where the.swinging zwin'g is 011er-,

ated by -thedirect applicatioll offor-ces. l To this end,afhandleisfpivotally mounted on the Wing Orth@ trimxwlfiiacQnmngftha-Cdges f the vying, -bymeans of which-the wing vis swung suchthat it may be opened or closed. Wheninfclosed posi-tionthe handlegisturned on its pivot vsuch that a-pcjrtion-thereof moves beyorldanadjacentthe -v'vilgcloses thev W ng is tightenedin position and turnedsogastoll'nloel; the v'swing-ing ventl Wirig. Ol'lefobjec'tfo. tllfi'sinventionl is to provide an mplovedlathi gtarrang'ement `for vlockingthe pivot'ing handle in Wing-'fastening position. This latch Yarrangement 5 is such that lity gl'nay #be engaged yto loe unlatclld bythe ngesworfhal'd of fthe operator tillen-.the .operator AIJJGllS irllla'tll'ral .position 'for tllfing the ll'a'dle While at rthe Saleftinl-"th rlatini-ling .arrangement is so arranged andpa^"'al" l]fvea'siblefto canse; l'lfrllatchfng action by some instrfulnentorlengtllof Wire vtvllich: .is lpas'stedinto the Vehile: .f :w v W v4A-r'lother Vobjec'ft;isf-tod. .providev` -a struotllre slls ceptive to simplemanufacture andeasy fabricationlofipartsi i Still-'another objectgtisxtoproduce-:means operableby relatively;littlemanual effort.

Yet another obect is tot-provide Va dllrablel V in. elevation; l

v ection, Van, inclined @plane orwing assembly, m comprises' a glass yifarnottntetl in a channel IA provided with ,pivots I'B and "[8. Alongthebottoinrof Channelfn'jy b 'e t'ed a latchin'g device V201'co'lfrlprisngaftoe'fele e'l'it and aharldle 121., iB y mean his handlethe operatofisable tj@ vary th angigiatjwtlltli-tlie vent Wing is spet.

As to Figurestg a f adaptable to'iusezina vehicledoor or body'frame,

as for example, "the Aside:fratrie 'Orl the 'reveal i9 may be'located'astrikrjpla'te l l1 "attached jbfy or 'the like 'This strikerfplatehas1an,opstand-A ing inclined surface orbain "2 I` Which-terminates inabearing fao`ef31 .v ,'Ifhisstrilgerjplate provides an abutment fortheilatchin'glil'an., 'l'."ll'efchanjnel ofthe ventwirig, 'whichlsindi'atecl by teren. -ence numeral I4,'is so'il'lounted lai-,chingdevice-riayL 'loe carried .relative to, the Wing.v Received by thismountingfbrackt and extending away frorr the glass lfis a` 'projectingStud it rigidly affixed to the Wing and--rrlolilftiig4 bracket Thisstud, @providedvvth all` anilular groove at all intermedi'alte portion4valong .its

and which,computestt-sleevememberat, nttlrlfg axial movementofthe"bafftlrmloerlrelativefto1 the'stud. VAttn@ other andiofitltefbarreliiimber' is a small 'aperture 32 communicating With this.

a spring'ln/eans- M and aplilngerrll. Extending'radalwiseftolthisistudfarepvwntslpts 0 1' kexfseats;

best see'nin Fig, 3, which .areindioated-at 42 and in the stud. Theseslots are located in the handle f end of the barrel and areadapted toreceive part of the key means.

is seen that the spring 38 may normally biasv outwardly the slidingmeans on which the keys are mounted. The outer portion of the Vkeys maybe embraced by the slots 5l) and 52 in the barrel member and the innerportion, say forV example half of the key; may be retained in the slotsy42`and 44 of the hollow stud. In such a condition the keying orinterference means tends to index the barrel with the studr and locks itto prevent rotation. YWhen, however, under outside influence the slidingmeans is depressed as resisted by the spring, .the key means/may beWithdrawn from the slots vin the barrel and contained within the stud.Hence, the barrel is free torotate. relative to the stud and the ventwing.. A close inspection of the hollow end of the studwill revealV thatthe portion 58 does not extend as far .out as does the portion 56 suchthatthe face 6l)v of the. lower portion is relieved to some extent. Inthis relieved area there may be provided a lug 64 actually appearing inFig. 3 but only indicated as for such a showing as Fig. 2 merely for thepurposes of illustration. When the sliding means are depressed such thatkeys 46 and 48 just clear their slots in the barrel, they are in themutual region occupied by the lug 64. This lug 64, best seen perhaps inFigure 4, is adapted to engage a face of key 46 when the latch member isin its latched position. When, however, the barrel is rotated, lug 64swings freely until it'runsinto interference with keyv 48. The arcofswingfhere may be of the order` of 90 for example. The key at all timesis in registry with Vvthe stud having only motion of translation and notof rotation relative thereto. That is to say; a splined eiect results.However, the barrel means is thus aiorded an angular travel of asuitable amount. In Fig. 3 the key means 46 and 48 have been depressedfarther thanpfor their usual range of operation in effort to showtherelative location of lug 64. Actually these key means would not berequired to clear the lug altogether, although as shown such clearancemaybe provided; yet with the key means out of the way so far as the lugis concerned, the swing of the barrel member in rotationV may beincreased to a value for example of 120. yThe actual selection of thedegree of depression, while it maybe left to the sensitiveness of feelof the operator, may also be mechanically set Aby adjusting the positionof a threaded capV 66 later to vbe described. Thus the cap may beadjusted to abut the handle end 21 of barrel member 26 at the pointwhere the key means just clears the barrel slots 50 and 52. The loweramount of arc of rotation will be the only one open. Nevertheless, ifthe cap 66 is backed al1 the Way out, then the larger arc ofrotationis'made vavailable. The limiting stops'V for the arc describedby the lug member, best To return to Fig. 2, it

seen in Fig. 2, would then be the projecting terminal 56 of the hollowstud.

At its outer end the plunger l4U may be threaded, the threadingincluding the portion embraced by the aperture 32 of the barrel andextending the rest of the way to the end. Carried on this outer endofthe plungenmay be seena cap or keeper 66l whichis provided-'withagtapped bore 68 ccunterbored at 'lll'to'provide a chamber therein. Theenlarged end 4| of the plunger travels freely in this chamber. Thechamber may be blanked oi` as at 'I2 by suitable means.

As to the operation of the device of Figs. 1

y tor5 the showing of Fig. 2 represents the latch in the latched.position. When the plunger is depressed as shown in Fig. 3, the barrelmember isfree to 'Swingin an arc around its stud but inthe usual courseof the operation this plunger will be depressed only until such a pointas the keys clear the lslots 50 and 52. Thereby is afforded to thebarrel asuitable'arc of rotation such that-thetOelmeinberZl extendingradial-' wise ofthe barrel`l and intermediate itslength, may clear thecam of the striker plate Il locatedv on the reveal. Stilla larger arcmay be availed of if the plunger is moved to its fully depressedposition when the key means is not interposed in the region occupied bythe lug 64.

The only obstruction left to be encountered by: the lug in thissituation will be the projecting Y. In either event, the operator may bethus free toposition the vent'v wingY angle to his desires and uponclosing the wing may twist the handle in theopposite direction.Y Thetoe29 will come into engagement with the striker plate and move alongiitscam surface to, reach a position on the face 2l. At this pointthe slotsinthe barrel andthe hollow stud will comey into registry such thatthev'sprin'g 38 may now urge the Vkeys into the indexing or lockingposition. So soon as these keys enter the slotsu'll and'52, furtherpivoting of the barrel member is prevented.

Should the operator'desire to lock the latching device in this positionhe may screw down the keeper 66 along the threaded'portion of plunger 40until the keeper engagesl the handle end'21 of the barrel.' Hencefcrththe keys 46, 48 may not be moved outof the slots in the barrel and theywill keep the toe indexed relative to the cam such that the wing isnotVsusceptive to being opened. The smoothr contour of the cap aitjords nograspingvsurface as for a wire or alhook rand will tend to stay lockeduntil manually operatedl from inside the car. Atlthe Will of theoperator on the inside, this Vcapmay be unscrewed where.

it will withdraw until enlarged portion 4| of the plunger engages Vthecap and then theA operator is free to depress the plunger and unlatchthe vent wing. A Y Y Although I have for the purpose of illustrationshown a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be apparenttothose skilled inthe art that many additions, substitutions,combinations, and

other suitable'arrangements thereof may be em- -ployed without departingfrom the spirit and scope thereof.-

What is .claimed is: 1 In a device for fastening avmember con-'strainedto a sweeping motion past a relatively said means andpositionable to key thev sleeveto.

said means thereby preventing rotation, saidl sliding means ll-iav-ing-a'threaded .end projecting fromfa-nfend of said sleeve and having ahollow cap'enclosing the extremity ofthefsaidithreaded endfand vbeingthreadably adjustable to ea-iirst.

keyed position, a radially extending toe affixed to the sleeve, and acam mounted on the other of said members, said toe being, adapted toslide over said cam into engaged position whereupon reversed motion isprevented when the keeper is moved into locking place.

' 2. For use with an automobile having a reveal and a swinging ventwing,a fastener comprising: a tubular stud member aiiixed to the wing, ahollow barrel member telescoped over the studv as a pivot, a vplungeradapted to travel within the chamber enclosed by said members and havingf one end threaded and projecting exteriorly, key means, the key meansbeing carried by the other end of the plunger, said members beingprovided the key means thereby locking against relative motion, theprojecting end of the plunger affording access for manual depressionwhereby the i key means may be advanced out of mutual reception and thepivotal action restored, spring means, said spring means .urging theplunger to retract into locking position, and a cap forming keeper meansthreaded onto the plunger, said cap enclosing the extremitycf theprojecting end of the plunger and having a relatively threadableunadvanced position under conditionsof which the plunger may bedepressed for permitting pivotal motion between the said members, saidcap further having an internal cavity and a relatively threadableadvanced position in which the projecting end of the plunger occupiessubstantially the entire cap internal cavity and in which said capengages the pivoted hollow barrel memkber to prevent depression of theplunger and thereby said keeper means acting to retain the plunger inlocking position.

3. In a latch for the vent wing of a vehicle, a

sleeve, xed means pivotally securing one end of the sleeve to the wing,interference means slidi ably held against rotation in the fixed meansand employed in two positions in the sleeve, the iirst vposition beingretracted whereby the sleeve is engaged against rotation, the secondposition in said first retracted position and at least a part of saidportion extends beyond the other end of the sleeve in said secondadvanced position and. a keeper comprised by a hollow cap at least partway receiving said extended portion internally at all times and beingadjustable to a position positively engaging said other end of thesleeve and receiving the entire said portion internally when saidinterference means is in the first retracted position and thereby toretain the interference means in the iirst position locking the sleeverelative to the xed means.

4. For use Ain a vehicle having a swinging vent wing and a reveal, thecombination with a latch plate on the reveal, of a cooperating latchpivotally carried by the wing, said latch including a Awith registeringslots adapted to receivemutually rotationlby'tnefwingfinternaiiyff'fsaiazbarrerfror internanyA engagingtherarrelaagainstrotation,

secondi ifmefans "coi'riprislmg`` inrie'r'fand "o'ute'r threaded'1parts, 'onevattachedfto-the `fnrst said means, and thefparitsencloseab'ly fmatin'g litogether, one#disappear-in'gv within the othersuch that the latter said part positively engages said hollow barrelfor"causingtlfieirst means to be locked intothe:nonerotatingzposition asrespects the barrel, a handle mountedfonithe'barrel for manual rotationthereof, and a toe ailixed to a central portion of the barrelandextending rradialwise, said toe being adapted lto bear against saidlatch plate. v

5. For use with a vent wing swingably mounted in a reveal having aprojecting cam.,a stud having a solid end affixed to the vent wing and ahollow end having a longitudinal slot providing key seats, a plungermounting at one end a key continually guided in said slot and having amanually moved outwardly projecting end, 'a barrel member tting over thehollow end and pivotally secured tothe stud, said barrel member beingrotatable and having an internal lug engaging the key Vto-limit rotationof thek barrel member and an opening receivably guiding the plunger andoutwardly ,through which the projecting end of the plunger projects, aset o1' threads on the exposed endof the Vplunger projecting from thebarrel vguide opening, slot means formed internally of vprojecting endofthe plunger andthe entire set ofexposed threads thereon to engage thebarrel member and prevent depression of the plunger out of keyedposition and being threadably adjustable to such a position as toenvelop only said fewer threads and permit depression of the plunger.

6-. For use with a vent wing swingably mounted in a reveal having aprojecting cam, a stud having y a ksolid end affixed to the vent wingand a hollow end having longitudinal slots providing key seats, aplunger mounting at one end a set of keys continually guided in saidslots and having a manually moved outwardly projecting end, a resilientmember in the hollow end of the stud acting between the latter and theplunger to urge the plunger outwardly, a barrel member fitting overthehollow end and pivotally secured to the stud, said barrel memberbeing rotatable and having an internal lug engaging the keys to limitrotation lof the barrel member and an opening receivably guiding theplunger and outwardly through which the projecting end of the plungerprojects, a toe, said toe being fixed to an intermediate portion of thebarrel and extending radialwise thereto in a manner to disengageablylatch over the cam, a set of threads on the exposed end of the plungerprojecting from the barrel guide opening, slot means formed internaltopermit barrel rotation when the plunger is' depressed to a particularpoint where fewer f threads are exposed, and an internally threaded capenveloping the projecting end of the plunger 7 8 and the'entire set of.exposed threads thereonlto UNITED STATES PATENTS y engagetheb'arr'elmemberand prevent'depressionV Number Name Date' Y of the plunger out ofkeyed position, and being 178,885 Taylor v June/20 1876, threadalolyyadjustable therealong to such a posi- 452 776 Dty" Mas, 26J 1891 tion asto envelop only said `fewer `threads and 5 .1 704560 Derng q; Y Mar -51929l permit depression-of the plunger. 4 Y L v"' v""f`c" v A ULYSSES L.THOMAS' 2,202,393 Morrison T I May 28, 1940 Y. Y 1 n FOREIGNPATENTS YRISIPERENQIES CITED A v Number Country Y. v Date The following`references are of record in the 10 17,589 Great Britain --NOV- 5, 1339leof-thisrpatentt'; 1 i H

